Servile

['sɜːvaɪl] or ['sɝvɪl]

Definition

(adj.) submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior; 'spoke in a servile tone'; 'the incurably servile housekeeper'; 'servile tasks such as floor scrubbing and barn work' .

(adj.) relating to or involving slaves or appropriate for slaves or servants; 'Brown's attempt at servile insurrection'; 'the servile wars of Sicily'; 'servile work' .

Edited by Gillian--From WordNet

Definition

(a.) Of or pertaining to a servant or slave; befitting a servant or a slave; proceeding from dependence; hence, meanly submissive; slavish; mean; cringing; fawning; as, servile flattery; servile fear; servile obedience.

(a.) Held in subjection; dependent; enslaved.

(a.) Not belonging to the original root; as, a servile letter.

(a.) Not itself sounded, but serving to lengthen the preceeding vowel, as e in tune.

(n.) An element which forms no part of the original root; -- opposed to radical.

Checker: Terrance

Synonyms and Synonymous

a. [1]. Dependent, menial, held in bondage, held in slavery, held in subjection.[2]. Slavish, mean, base, cringing, obsequious, fawning, supple, grovelling, sycophantic, abject, low, beggarly, sneaking, base-minded, low-minded, meanly submissive.

Editor: Margie

Synonyms and Antonyms

SYN:Obsequious, cringing, sequacious, menial, sneaking, low, abject

ANT:Independent, fractions, refractory, recalcitrant, dogged, stubborn, defiant,rebellious

Checked by Dale

Definition

adj. pertaining to a slave or servant: slavish: meanly submissive: cringing: obedient: (gram.) secondary or subordinate.—n. a slave a menial.—adv. Ser′vilely.—ns. Ser′vilism the spirit of a servile class; Servil′ity (obs. Ser′vileness) state or quality of being servile: slavery: obsequiousness; Ser′ving-maid a female domestic servant; Ser′ving-man a male servant: a professed lover.—adj. Ser′vious obsequious.—ns. Ser′vīte one of a mendicant order of monks and nuns founded in Italy in the 13th century; Servit′ium (law) service; Ser′vitor one who serves: a servant: a follower or adherent: a male servant a menial: soldier: formerly in Oxford an undergraduate partly supported by the college his duty to wait on the fellows and gentlemen commoners at table; Ser′vitorship the office or condition of a servitor; Ser′vitūde state of being a slave: slavery: state of slavish dependence: menial service: compulsory servitude: (law) a burden affecting land or other heritable subjects by which the proprietor is either restrained from the full use of his property or is obliged to suffer another to do certain acts upon it: service rendered in the army or navy: (obs.) servants collectively; Ser′vitūre (Milt.) servants collectively.—v.i. Ser′vulate.

Edited by Greg